DALLAS (AP) - The planned layoff of nearly 1,100 employees in the Dallas school district has begun with the cutting of 150 non-contract employees and the elimination of 100 vacant positions.

Those layoffs yesterday in the district, which faces an $84 million budget shortfall, will continue at the end of next week when 550 teachers plus administrators and other employees will lose their jobs.

More than 400 of the lost jobs are expected to include teachers in the core subject areas of math, science, social studies and English. An additional 500 employees - such as teacher aides, hall monitors and clerks - will also lose their jobs.

The staff cuts are expected to save about $30 million, with an additional $38 million coming from budget cuts in other areas. But that still leaves the district about $15 million short, and administrators have not yet said how they plan to cover the gap.

The Dallas school district is the nation's 12th largest, with more than 160,000 students.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)